Comparison

First Words Deluxe vs Starfall Numbers

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

First Words Deluxe

This app helps toddlers learn letters, spelling, and reading through interactive games. It features over 150 words across five categories and supports multiple languages, with adjustable difficulty levels for personalized learning.

Highlights
  • Learn letters and spelling
  • Over 150 words in 5 categories
  • Multiple language support
  • Adjustable difficulty levels
  • Phonics option
  • Toddler-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

* Finalist for the BestAppEver Award: Toddler Apps * The best-selling reading game for kids has gotten even better! We've added more words, more languages, and phonics. First Words Deluxe provides endless fun for the toddlers in your life, all while giving your child a head start on learning their letters and learning to spell words. Now with Spanish, French, German, Japanese, plus US and UK English. First Words Deluxe is toddler-tested and approved, with a user-interface designed specifically for the littlest of fingers. The game includes over 150 words in five kid-friendly categories: ** Animals ** ** Vehicles ** ** Colors ** ** Shapes ** ** Words from around the house ** (Fewer words are shown when the phonics option is selected, because many English words are not spelled phonetically. A total of 68 phonics words are included.) A wide range of options let you tune the game to match your child's current skills and abilities. If your child is old enough to ask for your phone, they're old enough for First Words Deluxe! Here's what educators and reviewers have said about our First Words apps: “First Words is an app that teaches letters and words in fun and interactive way. Very easy to use these apps will help support your little ones learning with great illustrations and bright colors. Each app supports kids learning and encourages kids to explore and discover by revealing, rewarding and teaching.” -- Fun Educational Apps “Excellent - As a teacher, I love this game! Just what technology was meant to do!” -- iTunes Review “This app has great settings that let you control the level of difficulty for the child – either with lots of hints or almost none at all. The letters slide nicely into each word and when completed the child is rewarded by having the pictured animal enlarge and animate briefly.” --Carisa Kluver at Digital Stortyime “First Words Deluxe is a very straightforward word-building game. Words are either said letter by letter as they are dragged into the appropriate gray boxes or, if chosen in the settings, a smaller set of words can be sounded out with phonics. This makes this game a treat for both pre-readers and early spellers.” --Common Sense Media “Looking to guide your toddler towards recognizing letters and how to spell words up to eight letters long? Then First Words Deluxe might be just what you are looking for. This pre-reader and spelling application encourages vocabulary development in a wide range of categories such as: vehicles, animals, at home, colors, and shapes.” --Andrea Gardner at Applicable2u "First Words is a great app -- as I said at the time, 'Leo loves First Words because it's fun and easy. I love it because he's learning to spell words, and the interface makes that learning error-free.'" ---Shannon Des Roches Rosa at Squidalicious *** We love getting feedback from our users. If you have questions or comments, please send them to info@learningtouch.com. ***

About

Starfall Numbers

This app uses interactive activities and songs to help children learn number recognition and counting skills. It connects numbers to real-world objects and introduces basic math concepts for early learners.

Highlights
  • Number symbol and value recognition
  • Counting activities
  • Interactive introductions for numbers 0-100
  • Coin counting and math expressions
  • 15 animated math songs
  • Closed captioning for songs
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Explore numbers through the magic of curiosity and the power of motivation: the Starfall way! With this app, your child will learn to recognize number symbols and values by connecting them to real-world objects (such as 1 sun, 5 fingers, and 10 toes). Your child will then apply these concepts with counting activities and songs! Starfall Numbers includes interactive introductions for numbers 0-20, 25, 50, and 100. Counting activities introduce coins, math symbols, and simple expressions while building counting skills from 0 to 100 in entertaining and practical ways. Your child will also enjoy singing along with 15 Starfall math songs! Counting song favorites and calendar concepts are animated playfully, with a closed caption option to display song lyrics. Each activity and song reinforces simple language and basic vocabulary, making this app an excellent choice for pre-readers, emerging readers, and English language learners alike.

Screenshots

First Words Deluxe4 screens
Starfall Numbers4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: First Words Deluxe at 89% against Starfall Numbers's 25%. First Words Deluxe also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.2) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 11 months). Starfall Numbers's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#192 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

First Words Deluxe costs $4.99 and Starfall Numbers $4.99 up front. First Words Deluxe sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Starfall Numbers asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

First Words Deluxe holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 51 and 35 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of First Words Deluxe's written reviews are positive against 25% of Starfall Numbers's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

First Words Deluxe ships an update every 4 months, Starfall Numbers every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
First Words Deluxe versus Starfall Numbers: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst Words DeluxeStarfall Numbers
Price$4.99$4.99
Rating4.3 (51 ratings) — better3.2 (35 ratings)
Positive reviews89.2% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings51 — better35
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#192 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.212.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLearning Touch LLCStarfall Education Foundation

Customer experience

First Words Deluxe

All ratings51 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative13.7%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive89.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative7.9%

Starfall Numbers

All ratings35 ratings
Positive51.4%
Neutral8.6%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative68.8%

Bugs and requests

First Words Deluxe

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Words sometimes disappear from the screen
  • Occasional crashes or freezes reported

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow users to add custom words and images
  • Expand word list with more advanced vocabulary
  • Implement a phonics-focused mode for all words
  • Add multilingual support in the base app

Starfall Numbers

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

First Words Deluxe

One-time1
  • Word Pack 1$4.99
None

Starfall Numbers

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is First Words Deluxe free?
First Words Deluxe costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Starfall Numbers free?
Starfall Numbers costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, First Words Deluxe or Starfall Numbers?
First Words Deluxe is rated higher. First Words Deluxe averages 4.3 out of 5 from 51 ratings, while Starfall Numbers averages 3.2 from 35 ratings.
Do First Words Deluxe or Starfall Numbers have ads?
Neither First Words Deluxe nor Starfall Numbers shows ads.
Which is updated more often, First Words Deluxe or Starfall Numbers?
First Words Deluxe ships an update every 4 months, and Starfall Numbers every 11 months. Most recently, First Words Deluxe was updated on October 18, 2026 and Starfall Numbers on October 17, 2026.

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